France coach Marc Lievremont acknowledged a spirited performance by England in a 12-10 defeat that handed the French their first grand slam since 2004 in the Six Nations in Paris on Saturday.
England ended a disappointing campaign in combative mood, scoring the only try of a tense encounter through fullback Ben Foden and pressing France until the very end.
"I'd like to pay tribute to England, who were magnificent and once again made life very difficult for us," Lievremont told reporters. "It was painful and we have to remain modest after this but I'm very proud of how my players behaved in difficult circumstances and of the solidarity they showed."
"I'll just say four words of English. No scrum, no win. Of course we would had liked to control things a little bit more and put on a show but in the end it's five wins and a grand slam."
England coach Martin Johnson said the fierce battle at the Stade de France on a rainy night on the outskirts of Paris could have gone either way.
"We did the things we wanted to do despite difficult conditions and ultimately it was very close," he said. "We were far better in the second half and defensively, we were superb throughout."
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